Everlasting
by genies9
Summary: Chapter 2 now up Sequel to RevelationsFinal one! This story's about Jesse's sister... and how she found love with the same man twice, in 2 different times.. and then driven apart by life-threatening danger. Twice.
1. Prologue

A/N: I know, I know, I wasn't going to write another sequel. I was going to end it at four stories, and I'm not even finished with Revelations, but... well, I just had to write this. There's still one loose end that needs to be tied up, and I can't do it at any point in Revelations.  
  
I wanted to write a story for Derek and Amelia. First because I thought it might be interesting to touch on what happened to them, and second because I thought it'd be interesting to look at what went on between them. We already know what happened to them, but I never said much about their relationship, besides that they were married and it was obvious in Secrets Revealed that Derek still missed her and loved her.  
  
I wanted to write a story about the wonderful innocence of first love, mixed with the adventure of feeling something that's strictly forbidden. What if two people from two completely different backgrounds, two completely different times, could share something that went beyond reason, beyond death. Beyond even time itself?  
  
Summary: The year is 1860, the United States is preparing for its most devastating war to date, and the de Silva family is beginning to lose hope on almost all fronts. They've finally begun to accept that their son Jesse isn't coming home, and they're starting to wonder if their second youngest daughter will ever stop climbing trees and riding hell-for-leather through the fields on horseback long enough to find a husband.  
  
The answer on all fronts seems to be a resounding no.  
  
A/N: BTW, if something has *** around it, it's a flashback kind of thing.  
  
Prologue  
  
Amelia de Silva opened her eyes and stared at the door leading out to freedom. Freedom she would probably never know again.  
  
It was dawn. There were no windows in the room she'd been locked in, no light coming through the slit beneath the door to tell her that it dawn, or noon or midnight. But she knew in the same way she'd known since she was a little girl, getting up without having to be told. It saved her life on any number of occasions.  
  
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and Amelia was relieved when she recognized them. If she was on this Earth for a thousand years, she would never forget that sound.  
  
When the door creaked open, the figure that entered wasn't that of one of the scientists coming to check on her—to make sure she was still there, and certainly not out of any concern for her welfare—instead, it was the only person she'd ever loved. Would ever love.  
  
Derek looked anxious as he closed the door quietly behind him. He strode toward her, coming to sit down on the bench beside her. She ached to turn and look at him, but she couldn't, could only stare straight ahead. He took her in his arms and pulled her against him. "Oh, Melly," he whispered into her hair, using a nickname he'd given her so long ago. She wanted to cry, hearing him use it again. There so much she needed to tell him. So much she'd kept from him for too long. But it was already too late.  
  
She couldn't touch him, could only lay still as he stroked her hair, murmuring softly. It was like being a prisoner in her own body—though she'd left her body behind long ago.  
  
Amelia wanted so badly to tell him the truth—all of it. She wanted to tell him all the things of the past that she could never bring herself to tell him before. She remembered the agony of seeing him again after so long...  
  
*** "Ah, can I help you?" Derek peered at her, looking concerned. Amelia was fairly certain that she looked awful. Well, anyone would, she supposed, if the man they loved for so long looked at her as if she were a stranger.  
  
Amelia closed her eyes. "You don't remember me, do you?"  
  
"I—no, sorry. Should I?"  
  
It felt like her heart was being ripped out. She had gone so long without him, loving him without knowing when, if ever, she'd see him again. But he didn't remember her.***  
  
Amelia smiled inwardly. No, she thought ruefully, of course he hadn't remembered her.  
  
After all, in this life, he'd never known her. She'd never had the luxury of forgetting.  
  
***  
  
A/N: Confusing? Ah, well... For the record, I have to warn you (before you hate me later): This isn't going to be a very happy story. Well... okay, it's bittersweet. And it's meant to be that way. But, I just wanted to warn y'all. 


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Salinas County, California, 1860  
  
Everyone from Amelia's mother down to the horses in the stable knew that there were certain things young ladies never did. Sneaking out in the middle of the night in her brother's clothing—saved for some unforeseen reason by their mother—to meet a man was certainly one of them.  
  
But what her mother didn't know certainly wouldn't hurt her. And as for the horses... well, Amelia was fairly certain that they knew how to keep a secret. And besides, she rather doubted he brother would be missing his clothes anytime soon. Because everyone—from her mother down to the horses—knew that Hector de Silva (better known as Jesse to his family) wouldn't be needing them anytime soon.  
  
First of all, he'd worn the clothes when he was fourteen, and had most certainly grown out of them since then. And secondly... well, no one had seen him since he'd disappeared shortly before he had been supposed to marry their cousin, Maria. Everyone had come to the conclusion that either he had run off—presumably to stake his claim in the Gold Rush—or he was dead.  
  
Amelia could see how it could be the former. She had very clear memories of her kind older brother, and she knew he was too honorable and proud to run off without even a word to his family. But didn't want to believe it was the latter. Even after all these years, she didn't want to believe that it was true, even if her heart told her it was.  
  
Sighing, Amelia shoved the thoughts aside, and stepped into the stables. She looked around, finally spotting Derek down at the far end, holding onto the reigns of two of the horses.  
  
Grinning, Amelia hurried toward him. Derek Ashley (A/N: I didn't want to come up with a new name for him... lol) was her father's ranch hands, and had been working and living at the ranch since he was a young boy. He was her friend, her confidante, and sometimes Amelia caught herself wanting him to be something more. But he couldn't be, and they both knew that. It didn't stop them from wanting it, though.  
  
"What took you so long?"  
  
"You try sneaking out of that house," Amelia said, taking the reigns from him. "You only have to go ten feet from your room to come here." Derek raised his eyebrows at her, as if questioning how she knew the exact location of his bedroom. Amelia just rolled her eyes and laughed.  
  
They mounted their horses and rode out into the fields beyond the stables. "I'll race you," she called over her shoulder, spurring her horse into a gallop before he had the chance to reply.  
  
He could have easily caught up with her, she knew that. But in the end he let her win. He always did.  
  
***  
  
A couple of hours later, when dawn was just beginning to brighten the sky, Derek finally crawled into his bed above the stables, exhausted from his ride with Amelia. He smiled. It was a ritual for them, sneaking out in the middle of the night, and riding to the back fields. Sometimes they'd race, sometimes they'd just stop and talk for hours, often about nothing in particular, just trying to enjoy each other's company without any of the worries that the harsh light of day brought.  
  
"You're out rather late, aren't you?" an all too familiar voice broke through Derek's tired thoughts.  
  
Sighing, Derek turned on his side. "Jesse."  
  
Jesse de Silva—or rather his ghost, since he'd been dead for a little over ten years now—stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. He'd started coming by a few months ago. Apparently he'd given up wandering around the place that he'd died in search of the reason for why he was still here and had decided to look in on his family—in case they held the reason.  
  
He didn't like Derek's relationship with his sister, he'd made that much very clear the first night they'd been out together. Apparently Jesse had taken it upon himself to watch out for Amelia's welfare—not that Derek would have ever done anything to hurt her. Hell, he'd have done anything to keep her happy.  
  
He thought it was a little late for Jesse to be playing the overprotective brother, but Derek wasn't about to mention that to Jesse.  
  
Derek sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Jesse, look, we've been over this before. Amelia and I, we're just..."  
  
Jesse raised his eyebrows. "You're just what?"  
  
Scowling, Derek shook his head. "Nothing. We're not doing anything that you have to worry about."  
  
"I don't want my sister to get hurt."  
  
"And you think I'm going to hurt her?" Derek demanded incredulously. "Honestly, do you really think that I would do that? You've known me a long time, de Silva, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."  
  
Jesse was silent for a long time. Finally he cocked his head, looking down at him with an expressionless face. "When I knew you," he said slowly, "you were a young boy. You're a man now. Whether you intend to or not, how do you know that you won't hurt her in the future?"  
  
He hated this conversation. They'd had it a million times before, and each time he knew Jesse was speaking the truth. He couldn't make Amelia happy; he would never claim to be able to. But he wasn't about to tell Jesse that.  
  
Besides, he rather thought the ghost had enough to worry about without dragging him into this. When he mentioned that to Jesse, he just scowled at him, and then dematerialized.  
  
Derek lay back on his bed, staring up at the brightening ceiling. He wouldn't worry about it now. He'd enjoy it all as long as he could.  
  
He smiled, remembering the sight of Amelia racing through the field next to him, her long hair flying out behind her. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with that picture of her still in his mind. 


End file.
